First Jewish wedding at historical synagogue in 41 years

For many years, Esteemed Adnan Oktar has been stating in his programs that the People of the Book should be treated with compassion, and saying that the Turkish government should carry out an inclusive policy towards the Jews and the Christians, as well as protect the synagogues and churches in our country.

Following, our government has taken many steps to mend the relations between Turkey and Israel. The last example of this was the reopening of the historical Grand Synagogue of Edirne for worship after being restored by the Directorate General of Foundations which hosted a wedding ceremony for the first time in 41 years.

May 23rd 2016, A9 TV

ADNAN OKTAR: The Christians in Turkey should be supported. It is truly grave and horrible for the churches in Turkey to be closed down. We should invite the Christian priests here and hold a meeting against the closing of the churches.

One by one, the churches are being closed down and turned into pubs. This is horrible; we cannot sit in silence and watch it happen.

April 9th, 2016, A9 TV

ADNAN OKTAR: This is really terrible. The Christians and the Jews are the ornaments, the beauty of the Middle East, of Turkey. This is a horrible outcome; we should correct this as soon as possible. Let the Christians, the Jews return to their homelands. Let them return to Egypt, to Jordan, to Iraq; this mistake must be put right as soon as possible. This is a terrible disgrace.

January 27th, 2016, A9 TV

ADNAN OKTAR: An immense anti-Semitism has taken hold around the world. Anti-Semitism has currently reached as high as 90% around the world. There is a huge anti-Semitism all around the world. We are trying to eliminate it. We are trying to eliminate the anti-Semitism in Turkey. We are trying to eliminate the anti-Semitism all around the world.

January 2nd, 2015, A9 TV

ADNAN OKTAR: Let people build synagogues, churches, mosques if they wish so. The Quran does not preach hatred towards churches or synagogues. On the contrary, Almighty God commands Muslims to preserve churches and synagogues. Despite this, some people attempt to burn them down, vandalize them. This is unacceptable.

The historical Grand Synagogue of Edirne restored by the Directorate General of Foundations was opened for worship, hosting the first wedding ceremony in 41 years.

Edirne Deputy Governer Tekinarslan and Mayor Recep Gürkan, as well as Turkish Jewish Society head İshak İbrahimzadeh, the couple's relatives and approximately 3000 guests attended the ceremony. Beadsmen Nesim and Viktor Beruhiyel from the Jewish Society  administered the wedding ceremony.

The wedding was held according to the Jewish traditions, and during the couple’s religious marriage ceremony, prayers were said for the Turkish Republic and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The official marriage ceremony was performed by the mayor of Edirne following the prayers and a religious wedding.

After performing the marriage ceremony, the Mayor Recep Gürkan said the following to the Jewish community:

“I’d like to say that I wish you have never left Edirne, but it is impossible to undo the past. However, please visit Edirne more often.”